Ta-Nehisi Coates deleted his Twitter account

Ta-Nehisi Coates speaks onstage at the New Yorker Festival on October 4, 2015 in New York.
Anna Webber/Getty

Author Ta-Nehisi Coates has quit Twitter after being criticized by wide range of people, including philosopher Cornel West and white supremacist Richard Spencer.

ADVERTISEMENT

West has been critical of Coates's latest book We Were Eight Years In Power, recently airing his views in both the New York Times and The Guardian. In both pieces he critiqued the book's themes of Barack Obama's time as President and the problem of white supremacy in America, labeling Coates as "dangerously misleading."

On December 18, Coates tweeted a series of criticisms he has received from fellow Twitter users, including West, and subsequently deactivated his account. At one point alt-right figurehead Richard Spencer, leader of a white supremacist think tank, tweeted his agreement with West and his personal critique of Coates.

Dang! @tanehisicoates just deleted all his tweets, right as I was reading through his thread showing receipts re: West critique. I managed to get this, though. I appreciate anyone who is mature enough to sit back and listen if they aren’t informed enough to speak on something. pic.twitter.com/ZEuLY7AfuX